The
3D craze landed with a boom in 2010 with a plethora of 3D TVs and
other gear being shown off in January during CES. TV and home theater
gear makers were quick to put 3D sets and home theater systems onto
the market to meet the expected demand from consumers wanting to
upgrade to 3D viewing their homes.

Many manufacturers expected
the massively popular 3D films in theaters like Avatar
and others to drive the adoption of 3D in the home. Game console
makers like Sony also expect to offer 3D gaming via
computers and the PS3. Unfortunately for the makers of 3D
TVs and other 3D capable home theater gear, there is a huge
disconnect between the expectations they have and the reality of what
consumers are willing to buy according to a recent study.

The study
was conducted by Kakaku.com in Japan
reports Reuters and
was conducted online from June 10-16 and had 8,957 respondents. The
results might be surprising to TV makers. The overwhelming majority
of those who responded to the survey most people have no intention of
buying a 3D TV. The biggest reason for not wanting a 3D TV in the
home according to 70% of the respondents is the requirement of
glasses.

Kakaku.com's Tsuyoshi Kamada wrote in a report along
with the survey, "Television makers' expectations for 3D are
high but looking at the degree of interest among consumers, there is
a big gap with the enthusiasm of manufacturers."

Not only
are the glasses ugly and at times uncomfortable, they are expensive
too. Sony's active-shutter 3D glasses sell for about $150 per pair
making the glasses cost as much for a family of four as a decent
non-3D TV. Another 57% of those who responded listed the price as the
barrier of entry for them. Another 40% cite the lack of 3D content as
the reason they aren’t interested.

Prices
will eventually decline for 3D TVs and more content is coming online
every day. If those two factors can be combined with tech allowing 3D
viewing with no glasses the adoption will likely pick up.